Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock , did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom. When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.'Ms. Cothren, where're our desks?' She replied, 'You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.'They thought, 'Well, maybe it's our grades.' 'No,' she said.'Maybe it's our behavior.' She told them, 'No, it's not even your behavior..' And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom. By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms.Cothren's classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room. The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.' At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it. Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand along side the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned. Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don't ever forget it.'

Thursday, April 23, 2009

The Arizona Diamondbacks are valued at $390 million, placing the franchise 19th out of the 30 teams in Major League Baseball, according to Forbes annual list of team valuations released Thursday. That’s up 3 percent from last year, as the D-backs received a boost from their television contract with Fox Sports Arizona and a successful year on the field. The team challenged the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League West crown for most of the year, before faltering at the end of the season. According to Forbes research, the D-backs brought in $177 million in the 2008 season. Two years ago, the team signed a reported eight-year, $250 million deal with Fox Sports Arizona, among the most lucrative deals in baseball. The average MLB team’s worth rose a little more than 1 percent to an all-time high of $482 million. Still, 10 franchises saw values decline during the past year, which was marked by historic losses on Wall Street, record foreclosures and a global credit crises. Big gains by the New York Yankees and New York Mets, which debuted new stadiums this year, skewed the average gain. The Florida Marlins were the least valued team at $277 million, followed by the Pittsburgh Pirates at $288 million.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Tourists who think they're putting a hand or foot in each of four U.S. states at the Four Corners area are apparently missing the mark — by about 2.5 miles. National Geodetic Survey officials say the Four Corners marker showing the intersection of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah is about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) west of where it should be, the Deseret News reported. The only place in the United States where four state boundaries come together was first surveyed by the government in 1868 during the initial survey of Colorado's southern boundary. The survey was inaccurate. Officials said Monday the accurate location lies to the east of U.S. 160 in Colorado and northeast of the San Juan River as it flows into New Mexico.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Wheelchairs serve the important function of giving those who have difficulty walking their independence. They’re a tried and true technology whose design has remained largely unchanged for many years due to the effectiveness and simplicity of the design. For all their usefulness though wheelchairs do have a number of drawbacks - they force the users into a seated position, making interacting with a world designed for upright people frustrating as well as not being able to interact with those standing at their level. A new concept vehicle from Exmovere Holdings called the Chariot makes these problems a thing of the past by letting amputees and others who have difficulty standing move around in an upright position.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

On the first day, God created the dog and said:"Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years."The dog said: "That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?"So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said:"Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span."The monkey said: "Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the dog did?"And God agreed.

On the third day, God created the cow and said:"You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun,have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty Years."The cow said: "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?"And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said:"Eat,sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years."But man said: "Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?""Okay," said God, "You asked for it."

So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves.

For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family.

For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren.

And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Saturday, April 11, 2009

You would think that a quick trip to the hardware store for some light bulbs would be relaxing. I should have turned off the radio. I thought it would be OK, the Suns were playing. But it was halftime and they broke for a news update. I should have turned it, but I wasn't quick enough. The news always makes me wonder what has happened to society. They lead with a story about parents suing a school because their son got hurt at school. At band practice, no, after band practice. It seems that the band members were hanging out at the school after their practice had ended and decided to play a joke on one of the members. They wrapped him up in bubble wrap tight enough that he could not move his arms, but he could still walk. Kinda funny. But somehow, when the "victim" was walking around, he managed to get hurt. The report didn't elaborate how, but somehow he suffered a concussion. The band members were not trying to cause harm, just were playing a joke. I am sure, at the time, it was funny. There was no intent to harm, and I'm sure if this was a form of hazing or if this kid was being picked on, they would report it. Anyway, the parents are suing. Not the other kids in the band, but the school. Yes, the school. Apparently, the parents are not upset of the actual act or the harm that occur ed, but at the school. Because there was not a school representative present at the time of the occurrence. Are you kidding? Of course not! It was after school, after band practice, after all the kids were dismissed. Why would there be any need for a member of the school to be there. The kids should not have been there. Including the victim. If the parents want to blame someone, blame the kid. Or themselves for not teaching the kid right from wrong. Or themselves for not picking the kid up when practice was over! NOT THE SCHOOL !!! This is why we, as a society, have been devalued. No one is responsible and is always looking for someone else to blame. WHY, WHY, WHY!!! This case needs to be thrown out and the parents should have to pay for any cost that has incurred to anyone! Sue the school? SHUT UP!

Friday, April 3, 2009

Today, a rarity happened. The New York Giants released one of their star players. To hear the short story about it, click here. I wish more teams had the common sense and the financial wherewithal to do this more often. It just got too difficult to put up with Plaxico Burress. Here is another example of a very gifted athlete who for whatever reason, allowed himself to become a bigger headache than it's worth. And in today's sporting community, that speaks volumes. The Giants site many reasons, including financial, personal and professional concerns. Here are some of the better points I liked:

The New York Giants released Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress in a stunning move on Friday.

However, the prosecution's reported desire to require Burress serve some jail time as part of any deal seemingly ended his chances of playing for the Giants next season.

The Giants signed Burress to a five-year, $35 million contract extension in September. The team failed to pay a $1 million signing after the shooting. Negotiations between the Giants and Burress on the bonus apparently had been going well, but Burress refused to compromise on the amount he would get back. Burress wanted all of it returned while Rosenhaus, his agent, wanted to compromise. That forced the hearing, another reason the Giants concluded that they were getting nowhere with Burress.

"Plaxico was not dealing in the real world and doesn't want to go halfway on anything."

Burress' status has been uncertain since he shot himself in the thigh on Nov. 29 with an unlicensed gun he'd stuffed into his waistband.

The delay in ending the court case this week also appeared to play a role in the Giants' decision. ( The delay was requested by Burris).

It wasn't to be, so now we have to move on.

Maybe New York teams just are tougher than the rest. The NBA Knicks vowed not to play their troubled player all year. And they did just that. As it turned out, most of the way through the season, they traded him to another team. In the big picture, they won. It would have been great to see the Knicks just let him sit the entire season, but they did well. Let's hope more teams see t he pattern and respond in the same manor. Sports can only benefit from it.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

1. A man was to be sentenced, and the judge told him, "You may make a statement. If it is true, I'll sentence you to four years in prison. If it is false, I'll sentence you to six years in prison." After the man made his statement, the judge decided to let him go free. What did the man say?

2. You have a barrel of oil, and you need to measure out just one gallon. How do you do this if you only have a three-gallon container and a five-gallon container?

3. Mom and Dad have four daughters, and each daughter has one brother. How many people are in the family?

This one is especially for Helena:

4. What English word retains the same pronunciation, even after you take away four of its five letters?

5. If your sock drawer has 6 black socks, 4 brown socks, 8 white socks, and 2 tan socks, how many socks would you have to pull out in the dark to be sure you had a matching pair?

About Me

I should probably start with explaining the "Bill the Great". It was a nickname I aquired at and old job. I had not really thought of it in a long time until I was pondering a blog site name. It is not anything that I take seriously, so please, take it lightly! I grew up in Scottsdale and have lived my entire life in Arizona. I have been married for 16 years and have four children, Billy, Kyra, Tasha, and Payton.